


A Night Out

by Cordy69 (Pat)



Category: Firefly, Serenity (2005)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Death References, Fairy Tales, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-08
Updated: 2012-04-08
Packaged: 2017-11-03 06:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/378215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pat/pseuds/Cordy69
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by the Hans Chrstian Andersen (from Danemark) story called The Little Match Girl or the alternate title of The Little Match Seller published during the cold winter of 1845.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Night Out

**Author's Note:**

> As a little commentary, I would like to thank Wereleopard to have come up with the idea for this contest. Thie particular story, because I don't call that a fairytale, has always been one of my most touching memory of story-telling time when I was a kid and it was interesting for me to rediscover it as an adult.  
>  I've imagined about half of the members of the verse in this position and River came up as the most likely choice to generate a parrallel, it gave me a new vision of her character and actually a different appreciation as well.  
>  Thanks to Tanya for her suggestions and to Sarah for findings the tidbits on the story I needed; girls, it is really appreciated!
> 
>  
> 
> ~*~

A NIGHT OUT 

It’s cold, so cold; so lonely and cold on this forsaken corner. I have been here for two hours already and nothing new happened. People do not look at me. I do not know if it is because they cannot see me or if it is because they do not care about anybody else not involved in the ever smaller sphere that revolves around their lives. Their pitiful lives.

None will know about the wonders I have seen, the forces we have vanquished, the evil that destroyed us. Lifetimes of explorations, all forms of escapades, some crazy, some inconsequential, some chattering, all of them linking me to the most exceptional individuals one can be associated with. My anchor had always been Simon. More than my brother he was my sanity. Since I could remember he always protected me, cherished me, encouraged me. And now, he is gone, the world took its cue and started the beating. Am I anything more than a shell tonight?

I have had nothing for so long, I cannot remember the feeling of warmth, of strength, of safety. Tonight, everything is festive, and nothing holds me to this place, to this humanity. I am going to light one of those small matches. They are soggy, from being in my pocket, from the humidity this morning, from the snow tonight. I took them from Simon room eons ago and he forbid me to play with fire, so I just kept them, warm, in my pocket. Matches are rare nowadays, no one needs them, maybe it is why I was fascinated by this little box. They are mine now, ours.

The shadows elongate with the strong flame that appears, it’s not really warming me but how pretty it is! Like a bright star in the darkened sky. Too soon, the flicker is gone and alone I am again. I want more of it, but Simon said not to play with fire… My fingers freeze, my mind gets muddy so I start another match, the picture is even prettier, the flame is higher, the needles in my hands tingle but the smart pain is good and makes me feel alive again. 

Was that a falling star I saw? Captain told me once that those are so rare we should make a wish when we see one. What a good man, Captain Mal! I will make a wish now, to the star falling in the sky, to the flame shimmering in my hands, I want to see my brother, again. the darkness wins one more time, erasing the good memories awakening at the edge of my battered mind.

Miracles happens, I am left aghast. Yes, I kid not you, it feels as with the new light shinning between my hands, I want to see my brother, again. Miracles happen, and I promise you, Simon's beautiful face was looking back at me. He wasn’t even the serious Simon everyone knew, it was the engaging big brother that used to play with me behind closed doors. I laughed! Like I forgot I could, just happy for the trick and the innate joy spreading through me.

The illumination disappeared again and I couldn’t rush enough to light the next match. And he was here again. I swear! With a glitter in his eyes, the crooked smiled was inviting me already to join him. My laugh was cut short by a sob when I realized my brother wasn’t here anymore. “Simon, please stay with me” I thought from the depth of my soul and yet his face vanished one more time.

I can’t take it, all my matches are ready to be lit and for precious moments I forget about everything, the Serenity ship, the fights, the choices to make and those made. With a smile on my freezing face, I embrace the mirage, and start talking to Simon, reaching out for him,and finding happiness one more time, oblivious to the mechanical and self-absorbed crowd, finally in tune with the important aspects of my life.

The next morning, the city cleaning crew number twelve reached a corner.

“What you got, man?” the guy in orange overall yells from the truck.

“A dead one, bro. And pretty at that. What a sad world we live in!” dejected, he crouch in front of the happiest dead body he’d ever disposed of. The smile frozen for eternity, the long hair shiny from the humidity, the dark eyes glossy but wide open as to marvel to something she can only see. 

“I wonder what her name was” he whispers, and with a mighty push of his legs he transfers the weight of the young girl and tosses her on top of the human pile. Morning cleaning up is a killer in this town, now his crew is ready to head to the river and throw the garbage out. 

 

The End

 

The LJ story is here: http://cordy69.livejournal.com/?skip=60

Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Our dear friend and member Wereleopard suggested a new topic to our summer challenge: rewriting any Fairy tale of our choice with current characters from verses we love.
> 
> The fiction work can be as short or as long as you want. Try to stay as true as possible to the original direction of the tale, even if you want to take liberties with the format and story structure.
> 
> To help you get started here are a few links that maybe useful. if you roam the net and find more places to add to this list please do not hesitate to post them in this thread.  
>  Review and summaries of commonly known fairy tales:  
>  http://www.comedyimprov.com/music/schmoll/tales.html  
>  All 209 fairy tales by the Grimm brothers:  
>  http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/  
>  Similar work for the tales by Hans Christian Andersen:  
>  http://hca.gilead.org.il/  
>  Here you will find fables, fairy tales and other nursery stories:  
>  http://www.ivyjoy.com/fables/index.shtml


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